X9 Assault Rifle
The X-9 Tactical Assault Rifle was the standard armament of XCOM during the Ethereal War. The weapon formed the bulk of XCOM assault teams' firepower, and relied on its mechanical simplicity, 5.56mm high-velocity firepower, and its user's skill to defeat far superior enemies. The Right Arm of Humanity's Shield During the creation of the XCOM initiative in 2014, it was decided that a specialized firearm would be created. What few alien craft had already crashed and had been secretively dealt with by governmental forces indicated that firefights would most frequently occur at very short range, and would nearly always feature a forceful breach and entry into the downed UFO. Therefore, the X-9 was designed with reliability, compact size, and rate of fire in mind; it fires 5.56mm NATO ammunition at a rate of 700 RPM. The weapon utilizes a gas-piston operation instead of the more common direct-impingement, to reduce cost and increase reliability. In late 2014, it was finalized as the X-9/M1, with an EoTech reflex sight mounted as stock. The weapon featured an upper rail to allow specialized optics to be used. Early Firepower Against the first UFOs downed by the XCOM project, the X-9 proved more than adequate. These first scouting craft were crewed by Sectoids mainly- short, gray aliens with large heads. While the casualty rate was still frighteningly high, the vast majority of XCOM deaths occurred due to the high reflexes, small stature (allowing them to hide in small spaces), and deadly plasma weaponry used by Sectoids, not due to their own rifles. The X-9 killed a Sectoid easily, if not more easily than a regular human, due to their unarmored, frail nature, but was roughly evenly matched with alien plasma pistols, and when "Thin Man" infiltrators and Floater bio-mechanical air units began to be fielded by the aliens, the X-9 began to show its cracks. It was a high-quality, effective weapon, but nonetheless outclassed by even the short plasma carbines of the Thin Men and Floaters. During this time, it became necessary for XCOM operatives to rely on their skill (being recruited elites from around the world), compared to the clone-stocked, relatively poorly conditioned aliens. It was often seen that an alien unit would miss several shots before striking a hit, time that an X-9 wielding operative could use to score a kill. Despite this, the X-9 began to be shifted out of the mix. 12-gauge pump-action shotguns and 7.62mm light machine guns were used more frequently, but did not totally supplant the rifle. The final death knell of obsolescence occurred when the "Muton" alien species was finally fielded by the Ethereals; brutal, 2 meter tall ape-like giants in green-hued power armor, they packed massive, full-sized plasma battle rifles and could soak entire magazines of 5.56mm and even 7.62x51mm from the LMGs. Fortunately for XCOM by then, they had accurately deciphered some of the secrets behind the workings of the plasma pistols and carbines recovered, and were capable of fielding X-12 laser assault rifles; these revolutionary weapons totally supplanted the X-9, and it was shifted out of service. It remained the primary arm of XCOM Base Security, and during the Ethereal's last-ditch attack on XCOM HQ, Base-Sec personnel used it to great effect, even scoring kills on Mutons and other high-level alien units. Features * 30 round steel magazine, reusable * EoTech red dot sight mounted as stock * High reliability * Gas-piston operation * 700 RPM cyclic rate, safe/semi/auto fire selector * Compact length for close-quarters combat * Rail system on top length for optional sight replacements Export